Mixed Emotions: Mixed Results

Today I got to work late. There was an ambulance and public safety officers in front of my building. I asked what happened and I was told that a woman was hit by a car. When I asked who it was it turned out it was a woman I have known for 20 years. She is a role model for successful aging in every sense of the term and one of our instructors. I was told that she would be o.k. but i will find out tomorrow the extent of her injuries.

The public safety officer asked if I could contact her husband and let him know what hospital she was brought to. I felt like I was helping sort of so I was glad he asked me to do it. At the same time I had a prospective student waiting to talk to me about a new career in gerontology. The woman had driven 50 miles in morning traffic to make it on time to see me and I felt compelled to spend enough time with her to make sure she felt like all of her questions were answered and her time was well spent. She was a perfect candidate--academically accomplished and passionate about improving the lives of older people. Somwhere in between I had to check my email for today's little dramas not worth noting.

By noon my husband called to tell me that a "big envelope" had come addressed to our daughter from USC. He was planning on picking her up at 1:30 pm for an appointment with the orthodontist. She had called him ahead of time and asked that he bring her all of her mail. I have been waiting for that "big envelope" her entire life and I refused not to be there when she opened it. I had also scheduled my annual vision exam for 2:00 pm. I ran to the bookstore and bought cardinal and gold roses (o.k. they were yellow and red but to us they are cardinal and gold) and another $100 worth of USC paraphernalia. I had 20 minutes to make it to her high school where I met my husband with the envelope. In the most wonderful 45 seconds, I watched her open the letter and finally see "Congratulations!"

I had less then 30 minutes to make it to my appointment in Pasadena. I slid into the office two minutes late. I book my annual appoints around the time of my birthday so I will remember to do it. So after the vision exam, I headed off for my annual mammogram. By this time it was a little after 3:00 pm and I had not had lunch. There was a Burger King across the street from the imaging center with a drive through. In an instant I assured myself I could make a smart choice. Note to self: entering any drive through when super hungry is not a smart choice. I got a grilled chicken combo with a diet coke...but shoot, the french fries were not diet fries, but they were good and they satisified me.

I tried to make amends at dinner and will try harder tomorrow. So, I get credit for making my appointments and getting my annual exams taken care of. I'm not going to beat myself up over a bag of french fries at least not on day 364.